Testor's Aztek airbrush question

Bob,

I've had my Aztec 470 for about two years now and I'm completely satisfied with its performance. The airbrush has done everything I've asked from it, but the key is that I don't ask too much. Since nearly all of my work has been in with 1/35 scale armor, minute detail work is generally not required. If I were working in smaller scales or working on aircraft models - particularly WWII German aircraft with intricately detailed paint jobs - I probably would be using a higher-end airbrush. The Aztec is not particularly adept at producing extremely thin detail lines below about 2mm wide without having overspray. It can be done, but its very difficult and requires lots of practice.

Also, I use enamel paints exclusively. From all of the feedback I've read, if you are going to be using acrylics - especially acrylics without retarders - don't get this airbrush unless you have the discipline to clean it immediately after every use. If you don't, you will be buying replacement tips every few months. I've had the same two tips for two years, but even with enamels, I thoroughly clean the tips within 5 minutes of painting everytime.

Finally, unlike some higher-end airbrushes, the Aztec is generally not as forgiving when it comes to variations in air pressure or paint thinning ratios. As with any tool, it will require lots of practice to become completely comfortable with how the airbrush reacts to these changes. I originally bought the Testors Mini-Blue compressor to use with my brush, but threw it out after less than three months (not enough pressure) and bought a good industrial compressor with a three gallon storage tank.

All-in-all, I like my airbrush and would recommend it to others, but only if 1) you're not expecting too much, 2) you don't expect the airbrush to work perfectly on day one "out of the box", and 3) you are willing to practice, practice, practice.

Hope some of this helps...

Thanks Robert-I appriciate the input & advise.

Glad to help...

I'd like to second that. I have an Iwata and the Aztek 470 and I love them both. I feel like I can be a little bit "rougher" with my Aztek because the nozzles are replaceable and relatively cheap. Also, the replacement parts are readily available unlike with my Iwata. The last store in town which had parts for my Iwata closed about two years ago and now I have to order it on-line. Otherwise, I've had nothing but success with my Aztek.

Best wishes,

Eric

PS. I tend to think that people with "negative" remarks aren't familiar with the product and/or haven't taken the time to get to know its proper use.

Thanks Eric-duly noted. How is cleanup on the Aztek?

they aztek line is very cleaning intesive.. if you don't keep everything totally clean and spotless then things go horribly wrong..........

why i perfer my badgers.. much more forgiving on the spotless bit... though I do keep em clean......

Hi Bob,

As far as the cons of Azteks, I own and used to use an A430 double action, until the airbrush body stopped working, after a very short service life. I really have no idea what caused it to break, but ultimately I had to send it back to Testors for warranty replacement. Testors did live up to their warranty, but the turnaround time was about three weeks, during which I did dont have the use of the airbrush. On this forum and others, I have read a lot of posts from users with a similar experience, so I don't feel that my problem is an isolated incident.

Regarding Erics comment, I did read (and follow) all the printed and video instructions that were provided with the AB. For that matter, all the operational and troubleshooting suggestions provided by Testor's customer rep had been followed as well, but to no avail. I don't doubt that there are negetive Aztek comments that have been posted by people who didn't clean their airbrush, or who backflushed on cleaning or soaked the entire body in thinner, but at least in my case, I followed all instructions to the letter.

As far as cleanup, I find it to be normally about the same as a traditional airbrush. If you need more than the basic cleaning, i.e. disassembling the airbrush (or needle/tip unit for the Aztek), it is a lot easier to take apart a traditional airbrush than it is to take apart an Aztek tip.

I probably would generally agree with Eric about replacement parts being more easily available, although ironically when I bought a fine needle/tip unit, it was out of stock so it had to be ordered anyway.

Since your interested in Aztek, I assume that you're looking to double action. As an alternative to consider before making a final decision, you might consider a Badger 100.

Andy

Thanks Andy & Delbert.

After everyone's input & my inexperience with airbrushes, I'm now considering an external mix/single action, such as the Paasche H. Gotta walk before I run type thing.

No I don't think you do actually. Walk first I mean. Go with a double action. Anyway, I had an Aztek, I loved it because it was my first AB and I didn't know any better. I ask a lot from my AB. Fine detail is a must, easy cleanup good general coverage and free hand cam is a necessity of course, and therefore the Aztek does not meet my requirements. it used to of course... but not any longer. And cleanup on the aztek was just a b**c*

i'ved owened an used an aztek a470 for over 5 years now and i wouldn't recomend it !!!!! Its a poor quality product and unreliable.Sure , i made some good finishes with it but i've had to wressel with it most of the way.I've had to send my airbrush in for replacement and i've payed the original cost of the airbrush in replacement nozzels alone over the years.I've been told recently that aztek are now no longer replacing airbrushes because so many peolpe have sent them in. The nozzels will clog and must been taken apart ( as they weren't intended to be) and soaked in lacquer thinner to be properly cleaned.The airbrush body itself can't be taken apart and can only be cleaned by spraying thinner or airbrush cleaner through it and serviced with a plastic supplyed screw that fits into the nozzel.This doesn't seem to be enough as paint tends to dry up in there .Put it this way , you wouldn't fly in an aircraft with an engine that cant be taken apart to be maintained and cleaned on a regular basis !
As your airbrushing skiils grow you'll demand better results from youself and your tools.So go for quality and something you can rely on such as badger ,iwata or pasche.

Ditto on Tanky's comment about not needing to walk first... I owned an Aztek and had varied results with it... with practice I was able to do ok with it... it's just cleaning was a chore and sometimes no matter how good I cleaned it would still act up...

I bought a Badger 175 then a Badger 155 and stuck with the 155 for 90% of my work the 175 for the rest... I say go with the airbrush you will be using in a year or so... the one you want to keep. In other words get a brush that will be able to do anything you can think of.

As stated before, Badger, Iwata, Omni and Paasche are all good brands. Parts for any of them are readily available online at www.dixieart.com and other websites... Badger and Paasche parts are available at places like Michaels Arts and Carafts and Hobby Lobby.

Here's a good article written by a member here on choosing an airbrush... it might help answer your questions...

http://www.craigcentral.com/models/ab.asp

As always, thanks. Your input & shared knowledge & experiences is always very helpful.

Tom-I found the article very informative. I think what I'm sensing from the group is to go ahead and start with an internal mix double action AB. My thought after discounting the Aztek was to go external/single for ease of cleaning & skill building.
Does the Badger 155 give the user the ability to do overall coverage & camoflage (basic) type work without changing tips or does that require a tip change?

QUOTE: Originally posted by bobbaily Has anyone had positive experiences with this product. My LHS has a unit at a very reasonable price but he was somewhat negative about it. It would be my first airbrush. Any thougths, pros/cons? Thanks

My biggest complaint is that the darn thing never cleaned up as easily as Testors claimed. I used acrylics (polly, testors, tamiya) and no matter how long I ran cleaner through it (Tamiya, alcohol, soapy water,etc) it would never clean the needle. I'd have to disassemble the entire needle unit and clean out the tiny thing by hand -- not very convenient!!! I finally got sick of that and bought an Iwata eclipse. I still have to take it apart to clean it, but it's designed to be taken apart quickly and cleaned that way, and cleaning the Iwata is fast and when it's done I KNOW that it's clean and I can rely on it for the next job... I don't have to fight with it like I did with the Aztek.

Gents -

Guess I'm doing something wrong. I have two Testors air brushes. The 20+ year old one, wasn't even called an Aztek, just a Model Master, and it's still my primary brush. (Still have most of the original nozzles too, and yes they still work.) Also have a new 470, and it works well too.

It's a tool like any other, and you ave to know it's care and feeding. I find it quite easy to clean, possibly because I only use acrylics. Usually a small paint cup or two of water between colors, is enough, and when done, repeat the water flushing, remove the nozzle and clean the body and nozzle(s) with the tool provided. Yes, there is nozzle build up with acrylics, but nothing that a wet Q-tip won't fix.

I don't do a "lot" of fine detail work with air brushes, so I haven't run into any limitations. I get smooth even coats, with very little hassle. Recently, I thought Iwas going to need new nozzles, so I picked up a few, they're still on the card. The old ones still work fine, not bad for some thing I bought in the early 1980's.

As with anything YMMV.

Archer out.

I'm not going to step into another Aztek good or bad debate here, they go on forever. But in terms of cleaning the tips with acrylics - here an advise I got off this forum. After the spraying out with water or cleaner, just fill a small container with windex (or some other ammonia window cleaner) and dump the tip in, (I use one of those clear plastic contacts cleaning cups you find in drug stores) You can take pull the inner needle/plasic assembly out if you want, takes a second or so. You can leave it in as long as you want. I've gone a few hours, a day, 2 months.... Take it out and give it a wipe, the thing will be almost brand spanking new. I can't imagine it being any easier than that.

QUOTE: Originally posted by bobbaily Does the Badger 155 give the user the ability to do overall coverage & camoflage (basic) type work without changing tips or does that require a tip change?

I have a single action Badger 200, but it uses the same needle and tip as the double action 155, so its painting characteristics should be almost identical. So based on my own experience with the 200, I would say yes.

Although I've not had the need to attempt pencil line width detail, I was able to easily do freehand camoflage on a 1/72 scale Tiger tank the first time I used it. As I have gotten more experienced with it, I could probably even do better now.

As far as overall coverage, if I open up the needle, the thing shoots like a spray gun. I cannot conceive of a modelling situation in which I would need more wide area coverage than what it provides.

Again, thanks all. A lot of good information here to help me decide.

Thanks

Bob - I answered your question in the Midway GB topic in more depth, but yes.. like ABARNE said, it goes from waterfall to fine lines with the same needle, you just use your finger to adjust how much you paint want... Good luck!!!

Good to learn on. On I haven't experienced any problems cleaning. If the tips get clogged, I soak them in thinner for a short time. Only thing I suggest is to buy a small air-compressor.

thank commando